Liberal Democrats are stirring up "hatred" towards Israel

Israel is a democratic oasis in a desert of totalitarianism. Iran's steady march towards becoming a nuclear power poses an existential threat to the Jewish state. But, it appears, the Liberal Democrats - always capable of the dirtiest campaigning - don't believe Israel should be helped by the west to defend itself.

Not for the first time Liberal Democrats are using anti-Israel leaflets to try and win votes in Muslim-rich wards. Chris Philip, our PPC in Hampstead and Kilburn, has drawn ConHome's attention to another LibDem candidate that is stoking up anti-Israel feeling:

Chris issued this statement (our emphasis):

"Conservative Home recently catalogued the Lib Dems efforts to stir up anti-Israel feeling in Muslim areas for electoral advantage, using the recent conflict in Gaza.

It now seems that this is not a one-off, and that the Lib Dems are systematically circulating anti-Israel literature. We have just come across a similar attempt in the Kings Cross area of Camden.

The Lib Dems are attempting to incite hatred and fear for their own electoral advantage. This is little better than the tactics of some of our more extreme parties. The Lib Dems need to stop playing the politics of race and religion in an attempt to grab votes. The vast majority of moderate Muslims will be more interested in local issues and will treat this attempt of electoral opportunism with disdain. The fact that the Lib Dems think such crude tactics will work is in itself insulting to the Muslim community.

The Lib Dem attacks on Israel are both opportunistic and completely unreasonable. Calling for Israel to be disarmed is wrong in principle. Israel is a democracy and must have the means to defend itself against terrorist attacks. Real political leadership is about healing divisions, not opening them in a naked bid for votes. This episode shows very clearly why the Lib Dems are not suitable for high office."

Comments

I wasn't aware we were 'arming' Israel. Calls for us to disarm them are just ludicrous. Why would we want to and how exactly are we supposed to do it?
This is just base campaigning.No suprise it's the Liberal Democrats, it usually is.

Saying that Israel is a democracy is rather simplistic. Avigdor Lieberman (foreign minister) on fellow members of the Knesset:

"During the Nuremberg trials at the end of World War II not only the criminals but their accomplices were executed. I hope this will be the fate of the collaborators in this house too."

On democracy:

"The vision I would like to see here is the entrenching of the Jewish and the Zionist state. I very much favor democracy, but when there is a contradiction between democratic and Jewish values, the Jewish and Zionist values are more important."

Let's now deal with the beam in our own eye. This particular beam doesn't, as per the Lib Dem example above, emanate from local non-entities, unconnected to the party's leadership, but instead from our own Leadership's favourite - and favoured - think tank, Policy Exchange.

While obviously I've provided the links, so of course you can simply follow them to refresh your memory, the allegation was simply this - that in pursuit of the *vital* business of combating Islamicist extremism Policy Exchange employed falsified data. Dean Godson threatened repeatedly at the time to sue the BBC over their allegations that this had happened, in an effort to shut down coverage of the story. We now know, as per Policy Exchange's apology - http://www.liberalconspiracy.org/2009/03/30/exclusive-policy-exchange-forced-to-apologise-takes-report-off-website/ - that these weren't Newsnight allegations, they were, very, very unfortunately, Newsnight facts.

To repeat, unlike a ward leaflet by a going nowhere Liberal PPC, this was a.) intentionally falsified evidence b.) corrupting thereby the fight against the single most important counter-terror problem in Britain, and it was done by c.) the outfit that Cameron, and Boris, have turned to again and again not merely for advice but also for personnel.

Thus, we have now suffered what is self-evidently a major scandal on "the right", but where has coverage of it been today? No doubt a defence of sorts can be made that the silence thus far was born of ignorance of the facts, rather than malice and axe-grinding bias. Well as that defence is now gone, let's all sit back and see precisely just how much coverage this gets.

It would be dishonest to say we don't sell them arms.We co-operate with them in many ways, in fact they are aiding us with some arms development as well.

" there is a contradiction between democratic and Jewish values, the Jewish and Zionist values are more important."

I would echo that but with Christian values.
However we are further from the ideal than Israel.

" It no doubt causes problems for Jewish Lib Dem activists " Indeed they must be looking towards the Conservatives with some envy right now.

"politics' ugliest doorstep campaigners2

What are they after all only week willed and self centred. The Wine soaked Liberals are often worthy of contempt. In this instance their position is indefensible and wrong, lets not be scared to say so.

This, is very similar to the leaflet circulated in a recent by election in Ilford. The Ilford leaflet also made reference to the Conservative leader of the Council, by name, immediately under the Gaza picture - his name is Alan Weinberg.

Interestingly there are no references to Gaza in Lib Dem leaflets currently being circulated in Wanstead ward where there is another by election for Redbridge.

As readers know I post under under my own name, here, on PBC and on Vote 2007. There have been some pretty vicious personal attacks on me by Lib Dems, on at least one occasion making play of my name.

I don't see how anyone can support Israel after it's recent attack on Gaza. This isn't a choice between Israel and Hamas, it's a choice between what is right and what is wrong.

Israel is a democracy in the same sense that Apartheid South Africa was a democracy, which isn’t surprising considering the deep relationship Israel and apartheid South Africa had. Those Palestinians living in the occupied territories can’t vote because they are not Jewish, yet they have to abide by all the laws and decisions made by Israel. Meanwhile, Israeli settlers driving on “Israeli only” highways wave to Palestinians sitting on donkey carts going through long arduous checkpoints.

Oh, and we do arm Israel the same way we're arming Saudi Arabia. Why do we have to whore ourselves out for money? Arming any country in the Middle East is a bad idea.

I'm a little confused here. It is Conservative policy that individual British citizens not have arms for their own defence, even if this leaves them helpless in the face of armed intruders in their own homes. I don't see the moral difference between this stance and demanding also that Israel, as a country, be rendered equally helpless. If anything, it is the Lib Dems who are being consistent.

'UKIP Campaigner', why don't you post your efforts on a UKIP website, this one is called ConservativeHome. I have never heard of the great Mike Zuckerman and his useless UKIP Friends of Israel so he can shove off too. Ukippers on this site traditionally support the arabs so don't be divisive.

Use your real name next time you cowardly swine and you have no right to plunder the party's database for your tragic, boring, self-aggrandising comments.

UKIP Campaigner, whoever this may be, is correct. I am have helped set up UKIP FoI alongside Mike Zuckerman and Elizabeth Burton.
Israel is a democracy continually threatened with destruction from all sides. Does anybody seriously believe that Israel would last a week if it disarmed? Of course not, it would be utterly destroyed. Let Hamas and the other terrorist organisations halt their bombing and rocket attacks on Israel and the Israelis will gladly embrace peaceful co-existence.

In an interview with Member of the Knesset Dr. Arieh Eldad in the New English Review...

Eldad:
I was instrumental in establishing the Israeli National Skin Bank, which is the largest in the world. The National Skin Bank stores skin for every day needs as well as for war time or mass casualty situations. This skin bank is hosted at the Hadassah Ein Kerem University hospital in Jerusalem where I was the chairman of plastic surgery.
This is how I was asked to supply skin for an Arab woman from Gaza, who was hospitalized in Soroka Hospital in Beersheba after her family burned her. Usually, such atrocities happen among Arab families when the women are suspected of having an affair. We supplied all the needed Homografts for her treatment. She was successfully treated by my friend and colleague Prof. Lior Rosenberg, and discharged to return to Gaza.
She was invited for regular follow up visits to the outpatient clinic in Beersheba. One day she was caught at a border crossing wearing a suicide belt. She meant to explode herself in the outpatient clinic of the hospital where they saved her life. It seems that her family promised her that if she did that, they would forgive her.

Wonder what our Lib Dems would feel if they were on the staff of that hospital. Of course, had the unfortunate woman been in that great democracy Saudi Arabia she might well have been beheaded for her "crime".

The British Government does export arms to Israel, which fuels the conflict between Israel and terrorist organisations like Hamas.

I have seen this article in full and in the very next sentence (which is not shown here) the terrorist actions of Hamas are condemned. If anybody's playing politics with this issue, it looks like it's Mr Philp.

Israel has a horrendous PR electoral system. No party won a quarter of the seats and the only coalition that could be negotiated had to include someone who doesn't like the Gaza half of Palestine. After all, he only has twelve thousand reasons to think that way.

The LimpDims, on the other hand, are grubbing for votes among Muslim populations and trying to pander to Islamism. In the same way, Labour pushed a pro-Pakistan solution to the Kashmir situation in 1997 to hoover up Muslim votes.

They both played with fire but there is a significant risk associated with that.

Henry [email protected]"I have never heard of the great Mike Zuckerman and his useless UKIP Friends of Israel so he can shove off too. Ukippers on this site traditionally support the arabs so don't be divisive."

Not being a member of UKIP I haven't heard of him either, but UKIP's website does show one Mike Zuckerman as the party's secretary. I put it to you that you are being divisive if you make comments like that about one of your own party's officials.

"Ross Warren, I don't understand your post at all. I said I was not aware that we are arming Israel because as far as I'm aware that is exactly the case."

Arms exports to Israel approved by the government totalled £22.5m in 2005 I don't have more up to date figures but as far as I am aware we have not stopped supplying arms to them. In addition we are involved in joint development of arms. As an example Israel's "round the corner" gun, and numerous explosive devices. So putting it bluntly I think your incorrect.

"Adam. I think its about time the conservative leadership defended the right of the Palestinians to have a homeland of there own."

As far as I know, we are still committed to the two state solution. I would prefer us to return to the spirit of the Balfour, with a single state housing both Jew and Arab in peaceful co-existence. When I talk to Jews, I am often told that they want us to honour the Balfour. For those who are unaware of the contents of the document here it is:

Dear Lord Rothschild,
I have much pleasure in conveying to you, on behalf of His Majesty's Government, the following declaration of sympathy with Jewish Zionist aspirations which has been submitted to, and approved by, the Cabinet:
"His Majesty's Government view with favour the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people, and will use their best endeavours to facilitate the achievement of this object, it being clearly understood that nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine, or the rights and political status enjoyed by Jews in any other country".
I should be grateful if you would bring this declaration to the knowledge of the Zionist Federation.

Yours sincerely
Arthur James Balfour

Who would have thought that such a seemingly benign declaration could be the cause of so much misunderstanding.